Delhi High Court granted regular Bail  in Abetment to Suicide Case

to AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal represented by Advocate Ravi Drall criminal lawyer Delhi High Court

Delhi High Court granted regular Bail to AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal in a false Suicide case of a person who was running a Water tanker mafia in Devoli Constituency. The FIR was lodged at Neb Sarai Police Station, Delhi, U.S: 306/386/34 IPC. Advocate Ravi Drall represented MLA Prakash Jarwal during the hearing. The defence had argued that the suicide note is in different ink, different handwriting and the second portion of suicide note does not bear the signature of the deceased. There was no evidence of Extortion- No illegal Property found in Prakash's name- Different Pen hand writings in Suicide note- No complaint against Prakash Jarwal in last 7 years. No instigation to commit suicide- No threat to Life- Aam Admi Party MLA at Deovli Constituency. https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/hc-grants-bail-to-aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-in-doctors-suicide-case/1875990 https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/high-court-grants-bail-to-aap-mla/article31910132.ece https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/hc-grants-bail-to-aap-mla-in-doc-suicide-case/articleshow/76596576.cms https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/hc-grants-bail-to-aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-in-doctors-suicide-case/1875990  https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/doctors-suicide-case-delhi-hc-grants-bail-to-aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-158834 https://lawstreet.co/crime-police-and-law/aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-gets-bail-in-delhi https://in.news.yahoo.com/delhi-hc-grants-bail-aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-095221199.html  https://lawsisto.com/legalnewsread/NjA0OA==/Doctors-Sucide-Case-Delhi-HC-Grants-Bail-to-AAP-MLA-Prakash-Jarwal https://www.indianeconomicobserver.com/news/delhi-hc-grants-bail-to-aap-mla-prakash-jarwal-in-doctors-suicide-case20200624152221/ Intentionally killing oneself is referred to as suicide or “felo de se”. Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, deals with suicide. It states that whoever attempts suicide and commits the commission of such an offence will be punished with imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, a fine, or both. Suicides can occur due to several causes, including professional or personal crisis, feelings of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental issues, alcoholism, financial loss, chronic pain, etc. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) gathers statistics on police-recorded suicides. An increase in the suicide rate was observed in 2021 (1,64,033 suicides) compared to 2020 (1,53,052 suicides). “Family Difficulties excluding marriage-related problems” contributed around 33.2%, “Marriage Related Problems” contributed 4.8%, and “Illness” contributed 18.6%, accounting for approximately 56.6% of total suicides in the country in 2021. Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, defines abetment as the act performed by:

1. A person abetting or inciting another person,
2. A person engaging with one or more people in any conspiracy for abetting or instigating a person,
3. A person intentionally aiding by any act or illegal omission for abetting or instigating a person,
4. A person by wilful misrepresentation concealing a material fact that he is obligated to disclose or attempts to cause or procure voluntarily comes within the act of instigation.

If any person abets, entices, or compels someone to commit suicide, then they shall be penalised under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for abetment of suicide. A person abetting, enticing or compelling someone to commit an offence is known as an “abettor” as per Section 108 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Abetment of suicide is referred to as the mental process of instigating, encouraging, or assisting someone in committing suicide. A conviction cannot stand without an intentional effort on the part of the accused to encourage or abet suicide. In the case of State of Gujarat v. Gautambhai Devkubhai Vala (2022), the Gujarat High Court ruled that the prosecution must fulfill the requirements under Section 107, which deals with instigation, in order to establish an offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Abetment of suicide of a child or an insane person is dealt with under Section 305 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. It states that anyone who aids or abets any person under the age of eighteen, any insane person, any delirious person, any idiot, or any person in a state of intoxication in committing suicide shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or a period of imprisonment not to exceed 10 years, or a fine or both.

Ingredients of abetment of suicide

An offence under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 is cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable, and triable by the Sessions Court. The Gujarat High Court in the case of State of Gujarat v. Raval Deepakkkumar Shankerchand (2022) laid down the ingredients which constitute the act of abetment of suicide. The essential ingredients are:

1. Abetment, and
2. The intention of the accused is to aid, instigate or abet the individual to commit suicide.
3. Interpretation of ‘instigation’

Instigation literally means to encourage, provoke or incite a person to commit an act which is abstained by law. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, does not define the term “instigate”. In the case of Ramesh Kumar v. State of Chhattisgarh (2001), the Hon’ble Supreme Court ruled that “instigation” can be interpreted as a series of acts on the part of the accused that led to the establishment of such conditions where the deceased had no other alternative than to commit suicide. In other words, in order to prove that the accused abetted the act of suicide of a person, it must be established that:

1. That the accused continued to irritate or annoy the deceased through words, deeds, or wilful omission or conduct, including wilful silence, until the deceased reacted, pushed or forced to commit suicide.
2. That the accused intended to provoke, urge or encourage the deceased to commit suicide while acting in the manner abovementioned. Without a doubt, the presence of mens rea is a crucial condition for instigation.

In the case of B Sridevi v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2022), the Andhra Pradesh High Court ruled that proof of incitement and abetment is required and that mere claims of workplace pressure or harassment will not serve to attract components of Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.   Also Read:

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